Many years ago, the emperor Rudolf II ruled in Prague. It was the sixteenth century, and the city was thriving: people of all nationalities and religions, including artists, scholars and alchemists, flocked there from all over Europe. By and large, they all lived happily there and enjoyed the variety that was to be found in life at the Emperor’s court.
Occasionally, though, the odd point of friction did arise among the city’s inhabitants – sometimes small, sometimes bigger. Some of these clashes involved the city’s Jewish residents. Some Czechs did not care much for them and, from time to time, they were even violent towards them. It was during this unsettled period that Rabbi Loew became Prague’s Rabbi.
People passed on all sorts of rumours and stories about Rabbi Loew. They even said he could do magic! Whether that was true or not, one thing was certain: Rabbi Loew was a very erudite and wise man. He was troubled that the Jews were beginning to be scared of leaving their houses after dark. He spent many restless nights worrying about this situation, and many evenings searching in his books for a solution, but he did not find one.
Then, one day – or rather one night – he saw a strange sign in his dreams:
“Make a shape out of clay that will help you face all your enemies!”
Rabbi Loew wrote these mysterious words down straight away on a little piece of parchment. Then he lay down and, for the first time in weeks, he finally fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
When he woke up the next day, he called his son-in-law and his most faithful pupil. He told them about his dream and both young men eagerly agreed to help him…
